Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom (PS3) Review
Posted by Andrew Mellick on 12.11.2006
Sony’s hack n’ slash action RPG series has made the jump to the big show. With Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom being one of the few launch titles for the PS3, could this old button masher be the game that Sony hangs its hat on?
For those unfamiliar with Dark Kingdom’s origins allow me to explain. This is the third installment in the Untold Legends series following two previous releases for the PSP.
Here is the story. After years of service to the king fighting in foreign conflicts, a highly trained group of knights return to their homeland. However they discover that, through the use of dark magic, their kingdom is an evil place. The King now plans to actually use his own knights against the good people! However, the knights see what must be done and devise a plan to eliminate the crazy King. But the assassination is a failure and the knights escape with their lives. Now, they are soldiers with no leader, knights in a foreign land, they must survive in a place that is no longer their home!
Graphics
Graphically this game looks amazing. Vibrant colors set the landscape ablaze as you battle through hordes of enemies through a variety of environments. Despite all the action there is not any slowdown to speak of.
I went through the game as a warrior with a giant hammer and my friend as a mage with a bow staff and even though both of our respective attacks were grand in scale and beauty, the game showed no signs of lagging.
The only disappoint isn’t so much a graphics issue as it is an issue with the level of customization and variety. The game allows you to choose between three characters a roided up warrior guy, a scout chick, and an old mage guy. That is it. You can’t even choose between male and female warriors, scouts, or mage.
I understand the desire to create a coherent game based around three pre-rendered characters. However, I think those days should be behind us. This is the next generation. I just dished out $600 bucks for this system. I should be able to customize my character down to the number of eyelashes I desire.
Smackdown vs. Raw has done it, Mortal Kombat has done it, Oblivion has done it. There is absolutely no reason why this game shouldn’t boast a robust create-a-character mode with an obscene amount of options considering the hardware the game is running on. I’m not trying to beat a dead horse here, it’s just too bad because this could have been a tremendous opportunity for Sony to really set a new standard for customizing in video games and it was just wasted.
Game play
The game play is exactly what you would expect from a hack n’ slash title like Dark Kingdom, requiring simple button mashing and easy to execute combos to get through the legion of inept enemies you face.
The controls are solid, allowing you to stop mid combo to readjust your character and go at it again. The action is broken up by periodical cut scenes and changes in location to vary up the game. In the end however, it’s what you have come to expect from the series nothing less, nothing more.
Online: I was surprised to find that there are actually a decent number of people playing this game online. Surprising considering all the hullabaloo with the lack of PS3’s out there.
It was a fun play online. Seeing as I was new to the game, I was pleased with the ease of checking out different battle rooms and how simple it was jump in and join the battle. There was also a “we’re all learning this together” mentality as other players were friendly and helpful. A solid online experience and one that really adds to the replay value of this game.
Sound
The music in this game is awesome. Booming orchestras and choirs singing out in gothic chant gives each battle a very epic feel. It really helps to set the mood of that time. Add to that the voice acting which, while cheesy, is delivered powerfully and full of heart making for a more engrossing game experience.
More on the voice acting, when I say cheesy, I mean to say more unimaginative. In these types of games I crave for a character that could provide a smart ass comment once and a while, perhaps an antihero to offset the ultra loyal characters that always fill titles set in this era.
The voice acting while sounding great lacks any punch in actual verbiage. The bad guys have evil hissing voices and are evil to the core and the good guys have deep manly voices and always express their loyalty to the people and the common good. A character that fell somewhere in between good and evil, would create and interesting dynamic in the telling of this story.
Lasting Appeal
Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom is just what you’d expect from a hack ‘n slasher. You fight bad guys; acquire new gear and level up your combatant as you go through the game. It’s pretty simple mindless fun, but with no need to go back and replay the campaign.
However, the online play provides plenty of appeal to keep this title close by. Between the ease of getting into battle and the surprising number of people online already, this may be the best game to showcase Sony’s online abilities yet.
Fun Factor
Like I said it is a fun game, mindless, but fun. Don’t go into this thing expecting anything groundbreaking. The visuals are breathtaking at points and the action keeps on coming. All in all, it’s a fun game but one that we’ve all seen before. For a next generation title, I really expected more.
Graphics
8.5
Vibrant colors and no slowdown makes this game a site to behold.
Gameplay
6.5
The gameplay is utterly repetitive. Nothing new or innovative at all.
Sound
8.5
Amazing music and spot on voice acting. I wish there was more substance to the verbiage.
Lasting Appeal
7.0
Their is no replay value to the story at all. However, online play does add alot of life to this title.
Fun Factor
6.0
This game is mindless fun but in the end it is the same thing we've all seen before
